Mojing, the city that never sleeps
Lingxi Ghost Market is the black market in the city, a notorious lawless area where all kinds of people mix.
Unless a major disaster occurs, the government will not send anyone into the ghost market.
It is said that there are many murderers and traitors to the court there. They cannot walk normally under the daylight, so they hide in the ghost market to avoid being hunted down.
There are all these ferocious people inside, and ordinary people dare not get close to them.
Over time, an isolated area was formed.
Only those who are as fragile as duckweed and do not care about their lives, or those who, like the drug addict just now, feel that life is worse than death due to drug addiction, would choose to go deep into danger.
Xia Jialian's eyes flashed with a hint of ambiguity: "To dare to produce lotus slices under the noses of the government, the boss behind this business is also a person of character."
The servant smiled and said, "Sir, if you want to know, I have nothing to hide. This is not a secret in the underworld, and many people know it."
All the hibiscus slices in Mojing are controlled by a man named Chang Gong.
Everyone only knows his name, and no one is even sure if it is just a code name. His age and appearance are unknown, and no one knows where he lives.
But what can be confirmed is that this person has considerable ability and can find a way to hide a large number of hibiscus slices, and they have never been discovered.
"We are just curious. Thank you for clearing up my confusion." Xia Jialian smiled slightly.
The servant extended his hand and gestured forward: "Then let's continue to walk forward, there is still a lot of space inside."
*
When I came out again, it was almost dusk.
Ding Can looked at the sky in the distance. The temperature had obviously dropped. "There are still so many people on the street."
"I'm afraid we can't go to Lingxi Ghost Market today." Xia Jialian stood beside her.
I have to go to Zhaoxia Tower later, and return to Yuanwai Mansion in the evening to wait for the suspicious thief who kidnapped the women to come. My schedule is completely full.
"Well, I hope we can get things sorted tonight so that we might have time to get through tomorrow."
Gao Wenwen exclaimed, "Are we still going to the Ghost Market? When did you decide? Why didn't you inform me? Haven't we always been together?"
Xia Jialian and Ding Can exchanged a glance. "That servant just revealed so much to us. Wouldn't it be a waste of his efforts if we don't go to the ghost market?"
"You understand me," Ding Can raised his hand and pointed in a certain direction, "Then let's go to Zhaoxia Tower now."
Gao Wenwen fell to the last one again. He caught up with them and walked side by side with Shi Yan: "Why are they always like this? Their words are so confusing."
It makes it seem like he's not very smart.
"That's great. I don't have to use my brain. If you need any help, I'll just do it. But when it comes to making money, you're still the best, young man. I'm optimistic about you."
Shi Yan patted his shoulder, looked at him encouragingly, and continued forward.
After being praised, Gao Wenwen immediately became complacent, straightened his back and followed. However, the financial power was still in his hands.
The closer they got to Zhaoxia Tower, the more they could hear the faint sounds of stringed instruments, and many people dressed in fancy clothes were walking with them.
Halfway through the journey, we finally got a glimpse of the entire Zhaoxia Tower.
The three-story restaurant has a single-story height higher than ordinary buildings, so it looks unusually grand and majestic. There is a large sunset logo right above the door.
The setting sun fell a little lower, and the orange-red sunset filled the entire sky. The slanting light happened to fall on the building.
Just like a movie playing, the red wall began to show obvious changes.
“It’s so beautiful~”
Ding Can widened his eyes and watched as the color of the wall in front of him turned yellow and lighter, and then gradually changed to light gold, as if it was covered with platinum, shining brightly in the light.
The shape of a lush tree appeared in front of everyone. At this moment, a breeze happened to blow by their ears, and the tree in front of them seemed to sway gracefully.
It really looks like a sacred tree descending to earth.
The golden light emitted by the sacred tree illuminates the faces of many viewers, and to some extent, it is like being in a fairyland.
Many people stopped in front of Zhaoxia Tower and marveled at the wonders before them.
As for the main entrance of Zhaoxia Building, there was inevitably a crowd of people.
Gao Wenwen couldn't close his mouth. "There really are such magical bricks! If I could bring them back, they would definitely become some kind of business opportunity."
These are not bricks at all, but money in front of you.
"It's enough to have seen it. Let's go in first. It looks crowded and there might not be any seats left."
Xia Jialian didn't stay for long and went into Zhaoxia Building first.
I didn't notice anything when I was on the street, but after I entered the restaurant and walked around the big screen at the door, I could just get a glimpse of the entire restaurant.
In order to highlight the shape of the sacred tree, there is not much decoration outside Zhaoxia Tower. It is simple and mysterious, enough to satisfy everyone's taste.
The interior decoration is prosperous and luxurious, with bright lights and feasting.
Colorful lights and red silk were hanging from the ceiling, complementing the purple gauze curtains on the hidden poles upstairs. There were bead curtains dotted in between, hanging down at varying lengths. The beads themselves were of different colors, emitting various colors of glow under the light.
In the middle of the first floor, there is a half-person-high circular platform used for dance performances.
Behind it hangs a landscape painting by a famous artist, which looks very valuable.
On both sides of the circular platform, there are small areas that have been cleared out, where musical instruments of various sizes are placed. Several people are playing the guzheng with their fingertips.
The tune is melodious and serves as an appetizer before dinner.
There are several rows of long tables for people to sit at evenly in the hall. It is now crowded with people. There are stairs leading to the upper floors on both sides.
Xia Jialian had anticipated this result, but unfortunately they were still a step too late. They were told that all the seats in the hall had been taken up, and even the last seat at the big table on the second floor had just been filled.
Currently, in the entire Zhaoxia Building, only a few private rooms on the third floor are still vacant.
The waiter was quite far-sighted and informed us of the basic fee required to enter the private room.
This box fee is much more than the membership fee of Qixingtang just now.
Even if there hadn't been this Qixingtang incident before, it was still a level that several people together could not afford, even if Gao Wenwen sat next to the dogtail grass and weaved it all day without sleep.
The money I earn is not enough to listen to a song here.
Shi Yan sighed softly, "That Zhang Shutang can often come here to listen to music in the private room. It turns out that only a wealthy family like Mr. Zhang's can afford such high-end entertainment activities."
Seeing that these people had no intention of leaving, the waiter had no intention of chasing them out. He just looked at them indifferently, trying to force them away with his eyes.
The normal way of getting in doesn't work, so I have no choice but to use a shortcut.
Ding Can took out Xu Linfeng's half of the seal from his waist pouch and showed it to the waiter. "We're from Mr. Zhang's residence to investigate Miss Shu Tang's disappearance. I wonder which private room she usually frequented?"
The waiter recognized the origin of the seal at a glance.
"So you are guests of the Yuanwai Mansion. Manager Xu is willing to give you the seal for safekeeping. I think he trusts you. Naturally, our Zhaoxia Tower will not charge you any fees. Please follow me."
The waiter took them upstairs. There were several round tables on the second floor. Just as he had just said, there was not even a single empty seat.
"The box that Miss Zhang always came to was booked by Mr. Zhang for a long time since she disappeared. He said that this was so that when Miss Zhang returned, she could come directly to listen to music if she wanted."
"A whole month's stay?" Gao Wenwen couldn't help but be surprised.
Zhaoxialou is well-known far and wide, and the daily expenses are already sky-high. If you want to book it for a month, the money you have to spend will be a considerable amount.
However, it is a sky-high price for them. If you think about it carefully, with Zhang Gusheng's financial resources, it doesn't seem to be a big deal.
"Mr. Zhang loves his daughter deeply, and everyone is deeply moved."
They had already reached the third floor, and the number of customers they saw was increasingly fewer. Unlike the two lower floors where people were shoulder to shoulder, those who could enter and exit the private rooms, either with financial resources or with power, would not look down on others and would never associate with those people.
Ding Can passed by several private rooms one after another, all of which had closed doors. He was really curious about who was inside.
"The private room for Miss Zhang is in front. Please come in."
This private room is on the inside of the corridor, not close to the street, so it is quiet in the midst of the hustle and bustle. However, the room also has a window on one side, and next to it is an empty alley.
In order to make it easier for customers in the private room to watch the performance, there is no wall on one side of the room, but instead a thin gauze curtain is used to block the view.
When there is a performance on the circular stage downstairs, you can pull open the gauze curtain and clearly see the scene below.
In addition, Zhang Shutang's private room was the innermost one, which reduced the possibility of her being seen by guests in other private rooms.
The waiter greeted the group and sat them down, then picked up the teapot and poured tea for them.
Shi Yan was indeed a little thirsty after walking all the way here. She picked up the teacup and drank it all in one gulp, then was stunned for a moment.
It's hot.
"Is your shop so fast? In the time it took us to walk up here, someone had already sent new tea?"
But that doesn't make sense. They were walking quite fast, and I didn't see the waiter notifying anyone along the way.
"Of course not," the waiter put the teapot down steadily. "The tea in the room will be replaced with hot water every incense stick. As for the dried fruits and pastries on the table, they are also replaced every day."
Ding Can was surprised: "Is this also what Mr. Zhang asked?"
"Of course, Mr. Zhang is a good father. The performance will start soon. The store is busy now, so I'll excuse myself first."
After the waiter left, Ding Can slowly spoke: "Just now at Zhang's house, I said that Zhang Gusheng went out to discuss business on a day like today, which meant that he didn't care about his daughter at all. Now it seems that's not the case."
Perhaps he really had some business that he couldn't refuse, so he chose to leave home when they came to his door today when there was a high possibility of a disappearance.
Shi Yan sighed: "I hope there will be a good result. If my daughter can't come back, I don't know how Zhang Gusheng will feel."
In fact, all the things he did were just because of what he was thinking. As long as Zhang Shutang was not found and no bad news came, it was, in a way, a good thing.
The tables and chairs were set up on the side where one could watch the singing and dancing performance. Gao Wenwen stood over there and noticed several dancers waiting at the round stage. They were dressed in exotic styles and it looked like the performance was about to begin.
Several servants were carrying a huge drum and placing it in the center of the stage.
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